Items20The creator’s order
  1. 1Village life in ancient Egypt (1999)Village life in ancient Egypt (1999)Published Jan 1, 1999A. G. McDowell translates records that the residents of Deir el-Medina wrote for their own use. The laundry lists and love songs in the subtitle show how far those records run beyond the work of cutting royal tombs. Start here if you want to hear from people through the things they needed to…0
  2. 2The fires of Vesuvius (2008)The fires of Vesuvius (2008) 8.0/10 on Open LibraryPublished Jan 1, 2008Mary Beard picks through houses, shops, and places to eat in Pompeii to ask what it was like to move around a Roman town. Her account pauses over how we recognize a tavern or decide what people did in a particular room. Choose it for a lively introduction to both city life and the uncertainty of…0
  3. 3Before the Volcano Erupted (2002)Before the Volcano Erupted (2002)Published Jan 1, 2002Payson D. Sheets and his contributors examine the houses, kitchen, gardens, and workshops of Cerén, a Maya village in what is now El Salvador. Volcanic ash helped preserve the arrangement of a place where people cooked and worked. Read the excavation reports if you want to see how archaeologists…0
  4. 4Everyday Life in Ancient Mesopotamia (2001)Everyday Life in Ancient Mesopotamia (2001)Published Jan 1, 2001Jean Bottéro and his contributors follow people through kitchens and homes as well as the world of medicine and magic. A reader looking for the texture of an ancient city can compare household troubles with the ways people sought help. The variety makes it easy to begin with one subject and decide…0
  5. 5Daily Life in Ancient China (2018)Daily Life in Ancient China (2018)Published Jan 1, 2018Mu-chou Poo draws on excavated objects and written evidence to look at several sides of ancient Chinese daily life. Economics, law, and personal feeling sit in the same account. Choose it for a thematic introduction that makes room for both what people left in the ground and what they put in…0
  6. 6Understanding Harappa (2001)Understanding Harappa (2001)Published Jan 1, 2001Shereen Ratnagar gives Harappan settlements a place within Bronze Age South Asia and its connections farther west. The comparison among sites, including Dholavira in the revised editions, helps a reader put life in a single settlement beside a much larger archaeological picture. Choose it when you…0
  7. 7The Moche of ancient Peru (2010)The Moche of ancient Peru (2010)Published Jan 1, 2010Jeffrey Quilter uses objects made by the Moche of coastal Peru to investigate what their images meant. Ceramic figures and scenes give you something to look at closely, while the exhibition research asks who made and used such objects. Choose it to see the problems of interpreting daily life…0
  8. 824 Hours in Ancient Rome (2018)24 Hours in Ancient Rome (2018) 10.0/10 on Open LibraryPublished Jan 1, 2018Philip Matyszak imagines a day in Rome, passing from one resident to another each hour. A watchman and a washerwoman bring parts of the city’s working day into view that can disappear in an account of public affairs. Choose it for a narrative way into Roman history before tackling a collection of…0
  9. 9Women of Assur and Kanesh (2020)Women of Assur and Kanesh (2020)Published Jan 1, 2020Cécile Michel translates letters and other documents from women in Assur and Kanesh. In family correspondence, the business of weaving and sending cloth can belong to the same conversation as household problems. Read it if you want to meet ancient people through the practical details they expected…0
  10. 1024 Hours in Ancient Egypt (2019)24 Hours in Ancient Egypt (2019)Published Jan 1, 2019Donald P. Ryan moves through a day in Thebes by imagining an hour in the company of one person at a time, including a bread maker, a fisherman, and a midwife. The format makes it easy to see how occupations shaped different days in the same city. Try it as an approachable companion to books that…0